The present invention relates to a liquid discharger, and in particular relates to a liquid discharger including a head to discharge liquid droplets and a cap to cover a nozzle face of the head.
Many devices, such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, a plotter, and a multifunction apparatus, include a liquid discharger. For example, an inkjet recording apparatus may use a liquid discharging head that discharges liquid on a sheet while conveying the sheet to the head.
An inkjet recording apparatus may include a maintenance mechanism that maintains and recovers a discharge ability of a liquid discharge head. The maintenance mechanism has a cap to cap the liquid discharge head and a cap mover to vertically move the cap. While the inkjet recording apparatus is in a waiting mode, a carriage, which mounts the liquid discharge head and movable in a main scanning direction, moves to a position facing the maintenance mechanism.
Devices may judges whether a cap normally covers a nozzle. A movement regulation part regulates the movement of the carriage by catching the carriage when the cap reaches a capping position to cover the nozzle. If the cap does not move upward because of the trouble of the carriage mover, the movement regulation part does not catch the carriage, so the carriage is movable without restriction.
That is, the inkjet recording apparatus judges that the cap normally covers the nozzles if the cap is moved to the capping position by the cap mover and the movement regulation part catches the carriage, and also whether the carriage is movable without restriction. However, in order to judge the capping condition, the above inkjet recording apparatus requires the movement regulation part, which increases the complexity and the production cost of the apparatus.